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Ah, It's Helloween

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. Well, for some forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or, we'll be giving a fresh look at a video that deserves to be collecting dust. We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

Helloween "Halloween"1987

Don't let the dark and eerie forest, pseudo fog or pumpkin-headed man scare you away, "Halloween" was the creation of one of the most influential (and aptly titled) heavy metal bands to come out of Europe in the '80s. Thrashing onto the scene from Hamburg, Germany, Helloween — originally called Second Hell (which funny enough still flirted with the spooky Halloween theme) — was formed by bassist Markus Grosskpf, guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen, drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, and guitarist Michael Weikath. When Hansen decided his vocals weren't quite what the world, and trick-or-treaters, was looking for, the band called on teenage vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched delivery was likened to that of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest's Rob Halford.

The new lineup proved to be sinfully good and Helloween released the album that features this ghoulish track, Keeper Of The Seven Keys — Pt. 1. The album may have only peaked in the triple digits on the Billboard 200, but "Halloween" makes up for it by offering perfect a game plan for anyone looking to celebrate on Oct. 31: "Meet the others at the store/Knock on other people's door/Trick-or-treat, they have no choice/Little ghosts are makin' lots of noise." And the track isn't without plenty of excitement for the ghostly celebration as well: "Ah, it's Halloween/Ah, it's Halloween tonight."

The band tried a few tricks of their own in the years that followed with Hansen's eventual departure, the addition of guitarist Roland Grapow, the eventual ousting of both Kiske and Schwichtenberg, and the drafting of new singer Andi Deris and drummer Uli Kusch. In 2008 the new Helloween released Keeper Of The Seven Keys — The Legacy on…you guessed it, Oct. 31. We hope on this Oct. 31 you find a little room for Helloween on your heavy metal Halloween playlist.

How will you celebrate Halloween? Got a freakish Forgotten Video recommendation? Leave us a comment.

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